Nothing To Worry About
by HyperionX
Summary: It's been years since that adventurous day, from strangers to becoming best friends, but time has also caused them to be farther from each other. It's a good thing though, that time was forgiving, now that they can see each other again. A sort of sequel to "Something To Worry About".
Right after that adventure with Sherman, Penny would always visit him and Mr. Peabody, and got to know them more. Until recently, the visits had almost come to a halt. She and her parents have moved to a different house, and the location was far from them. But she and Sherman were still schoolmates. Her parents didn't bother transferring her to a different one as they knew how hard it was like, that is until college happened. It was making both her and Sherman very busy. Ever since she entered this level in education, Penny wasn't able to visit them even once. She was depressed when she found out that Sherman was going in a different school. Of all her friends, Sherman was the most comfortable to talk with. It was strange, she hadn't thought about him and that brilliant dog for quite some time because of schoolwork, yet when she did, it all just came back to her, and in an instant, she missed them already. She could just call them, but she kept forgetting as she was too focused on her studies. But now was the perfect time to visit, as it was the start of the break.

She got up from her bed with a smile on her face. After many months, she was going to see them again. She went down and ate breakfast, and took a bath after. She got the car keys and went to the garage. Since her parents were always busy, she asked them if she could go to a driving school so she didn't bother them by taking her to the places she want. And after months of practicing, she finally learned how to drive without any assistance.

The drive took some time, but she was happy to see that familiar building with that cool penthouse on top. She went inside the basement of the building where the car park was located. She got out of her car and got her shoulder bag and went to the elevator. She was excited, she was going to see them again.

As the elevator bell dinged, she couldn't take that smile off her face. The first thing she saw was the dining and kitchen area. Nothing changed it seems. There were no differences in the paint, decorations, anything. It was still the same simple interior design, and that somehow made her happy, as this was how the place was when she met them. It made her feel at home. But one question went to her mind: Where was Sherman and Mr. Peabody. As if suddenly being deaf then regaining hearing instantly, she finally heard the familiar voice of the boy in the living room. He was watching a cartoon, that same old cartoon he kept watching over and over when she would visit before. It was an episode she hasn't seen before. It's probably a new season, she thought. There was no doubt it was his favorite. She liked it too, it was a good show anyway.

Penny chuckled quietly. He still hasn't changed at all. She decided to have some fun. Since the couch Sherman was sitting on was facing the opposite direction where she was, there was no way he was going to see her. She crept up behind him. Making sure her shoulder bag wouldn't make any sound, she shortened the length of the belt so it wouldn't hit the floor. As she got nearer to the couch, she tried her best to hold in her laughter. Then, there goes her fun. She covered Sherman's eyes with both of her hands.

Sherman was surprised. "M-Mr. Peabody? Wait I'm going to miss the scene!" He realized that whatever was covering his eyes wasn't furry. "Mr. Peabody? Did you shave your paws? And why do you smell like perfume?" It smelled like girl's perfume, and Sherman was shocked. "W-ho is this?! Please don't hurt me!"

Penny couldn't contain it anymore and ended up laughing. She released her hands from the boy's face, finally freeing his eyes.

Sherman quickly recognized that voice. It truly was a surprise visit. He turned around and saw the girl. "P-Penny?" A smile formed on his face. There was no need for words, he immediately went to her and hugged her. "It's been quite some time, hasn't it?" He chuckled.

After quite some time, she realized just how much she missed this boy's hugs; the warmth made her feel all happy inside, and she knew that a friend was there by her side. "Hi Sherman."

Sherman gestured her to sit down on the comfortable couch. The television was still on, and Sherman was tempted to watch it again, but his focus was now on Penny. He had some catching up to do. "So Penny, how have you been?"

Penny noticed that something, rather someone, was missing. "Wait, where's Mr. Peabody?" She noticed Sherman slightly frowning at that question.

"He went off to a meeting, again…" As the years passed by, Mr. Peabody has gotten busier and busier. He wasn't getting any younger, it was starting to be difficult to think of some kind of groundbreaking invention. "You know, busy with work and all…"

Penny felt guilty after asking that. "I'm sorry I asked…" She frowned, knowing that this was the first time she had seen Sherman in many months, and she was the cause of this sad atmosphere to loom around them. But another reason why she felt sad was that Mr. Peabody himself wasn't physically present now. It didn't feel complete at all. But the fact that she got to see her best friend again put a smile on her face.

The boy just shook it off. "No it's okay, really," he said, smiling at her. He glanced at the television. He wondered if she still remembered it. But the reason he wanted to talk about it was that he didn't want to make things any sadder. "Hey Penny, do you remember that show?"

Penny looked at the bright screen, and grinned. "Of course Sherman! There's no way I would forget this, with how many times we kept watching this again and again, how can I?" She chuckled.

"Are you sure?" He scratched his chin. "Because if you don't, the Paranormal Twins will help you remember!"

Penny decided to play along. "Hmm, I'm pretty sure I'm sure Shermanus." It was a cute nickname, she thought. With that time traveling adventure being one of the best adventures she ever had, it was hard to forget what happened. "After all, the Paranormal Twins are the best."

Sherman didn't mind being called that though. It was a remembrance from that awesome adventure many years ago. "You know, I think the mystery that only you can solve is the Mystery of the Rubik's," he said.

Penny found it amusing. After all this time, he still didn't get it. She even taught him how to solve it, and now she found out it wasn't effective. She laughed. "You still don't know how to solve it?!"

Sherman shook his head slowly. "It's the world's greatest mystery, Penny. And yet you were able to solve it."

She found it funny how he was taking that toy so seriously. It was like his one-way ticket to getting something he had always dreamed of. "Well, let's not focus on that mystery. It's only gonna stress us out." She glanced to her side, where she noticed a familiar door. Her lips soon formed to a smirk. "How about we solve the mystery of your room?" She pointed to the direction of the boy's room.

Confusion struck the boy. "What? There's no mystery in my room." He really didn't know what she was talking about. That has been his room for his whole life, and there hasn't been anything there that could be considered as a mystery there. Well, unless the mystery of him losing his toys within the room when he was still a kid was counted, there was totally none.

"Oh come on Sherman, I know there is." She had this confident smile on her face, like a kid who knew where the treasure was when playing pirates. But in reality, she wanted to know what Sherman's room has become over the past months.

"Umm isn't that like invading my privacy?"

"Oh, are you hiding something from me Sherman?" That smirk on her face still remained. She was persistent just to see that boy's room again. No response came from the boy. "Oh so you _are_ hiding something. This mystery must be that mysterious isn't it?"

"A mysterious mystery… okay now I'm really confused."

The confident display on her face was instantly wiped off and replaced with a display of annoyance. Sometimes his obliviousness was starting to get on her nerves, well, it has, ever since they were still small, but she learned to just shrug it off. "Okay fine, I just want to see your room, because you know… it's been quite awhile," she said with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Sherman's mind clicked. "Oh! So that's why you wanted to see my room? Well why didn't you just say so!"

She mentally facepalmed. "You've got to be kidding me…"

"What?"

"I thought we were still roleplaying!"

Sherman laughed nervously. "Sorry…"

Penny stood up from the couch, and Sherman followed suit. "So, are we going or not?" She asked, rather impatiently.

Sherman thought that the only possible answers to her question were a yes or a yes, with that vicious glare on her eyes, no was out of the choices. She was kinda like this with the WABAC before, he thought. "Okay…"

They walked to the room, with Penny having a smile on her face.

* * *

Nothing changed at all. Penny looked around the room, and everything looked the same. That familiar toy box at the corner of the room made her remember a creepy memory. "Hey Sherman, do you still have that haunted doll from before?"

Sherman noticed where she was looking, and he shuddered at the thought of what happened that day. A child ghost who took over his best friend, only to find out it was obsessed with him was something certainly worth to be scared of. "Definitely not. I don't want that to happen again." A chuckle emerged from him. "It's kinda funny though, how you acted when she took over you. You kept chasing me and telling me that we belong together!" He burst out laughing.

Penny glared at him and blushed. "Well it's not my fault that you're so cu-" Her blush got deeper. It almost slipped out. "-c-cue, y-yeah, a cue for unfortunate events." She grinned nervously. She looked down at the floor, embarrassed. When the boy didn't respond, she slowly looked at his face. He surely looked dumbfounded; a face that translated to "That didn't make any sense at all." But Penny knew Sherman was somewhat dense, and she hoped that he wouldn't bother questioning her.

"Ouch. Well it's not my fault you were so interested in that doll." Sherman sat down on the side of his bed, looking at Penny.

Penny sighed in relief. That was such a close call. She was about to reply, however, she saw another thing that caught her interest. It was the closet. Yet another memory played in her mind. "Hey Sherman, isn't that the closet were we got trapped in before?" She chuckled quietly. "It kinda looks different. It looks much more… futuristic."

Sherman nodded. "Yeah, dad did some tweaks and improvements to it, especially after, you know, what you said." He scratched the back of his head, seemingly embarrassed. "I still don't know how that door knob only had one knob. It was so weird."

Penny checked the closet out, and she truly was surprised at how much change was done in less than a year. "Wow Sherman, are you sure this is the same closet? This looks so cool!"

Sherman smiled. "Well, you know Mr. Peabody… oh yeah, he added some kind of device there, it's a voice activated lock, but it's still a prototype, and for now, it only recognizes his voice."

Penny smirked mischievously as she looked back at the boy. "That sounds like an opportunity to get us trapped again. Wanna try it?"

Sherman blushed lightly. What kind of question was that? Then he remembered why, as she was the one who actually had fun in that place. "No thanks, you're just gonna torture me with your tricks again."

Penny laughed. She sat down on Sherman's bed, beside him. A sudden yawn escaped the girl's mouth. Sherman smirked. "Looks like somebody's tired."

Penny smiled tiredly. "Oh, you know how college is." She stretched her arms. "It's a good thing the break started. I can finally sleep for more than five hours."

This caught Sherman off guard. "What? You haven't slept longer than that every day during the school year?" Only now did he notice the bottom of the girl's eyes being darker than they usually were. This pretty much answered his question. He was filling up with concern. But there was one thing that was bugging him ever since she got here.

"You know Penny, I've been meaning to ask you, how did you get here anyway? Aren't your parents usually busy?"

That confident smirk emerged yet again from the girl's lips. "Actually, I drove all the way here."

Sherman was genuinely surprised; he didn't even know how to drive yet. Mr. Peabody always drove him to school, and even up to now in college, he still did. "You know how to drive already?" The simple nod from the girl confirmed it. He wanted to drive, but he thought now was not the right time. "Really?! That's really great! You gotta teach me Penny!"

Penny blushed lightly. She liked it whenever she impressed Sherman. "Maybe I will, but I gotta warn you, I'm not much of a good teacher."

Oh yeah, he almost forgot how tired she currently was. "That's alright, but what's important now is for you to get some rest."

Penny shook her head. "I'm fine Sherman, see?" She showed her best smile, one that radiated with energy, whilst not overdoing it to the point that it would look creepy in another person's view. "I can always rest later."

Sherman wasn't sure if he should actually tell her to go rest, or if they should do something else to pass the time rather than just be stressed out thinking about the current situation. But he trusted Penny, even if there were times that she fooled him. That was when they weren't really friends yet. She has already changed her attitude towards him in a friendlier way. And so, he decided that the latter was a better option. "So, what do you want to do now?"

Penny had to think about for awhile, then an idea popped in her mind. "Hmm, how about we play something? I miss beating you in those." She smirked.

That definitely encouraged the boy. "Oh it is on!" He narrowed his eyes and smiled. "No way you're gonna beat me this time Penny!"

* * *

And Sherman lost yet again. "What?! No!" He saw his character getting beat up by Penny's character, thus ending the match. "Isn't this the first that you played this game?!"

Penny smiled weakly at Sherman. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I haven't played fighting games before." She chuckled.

Sherman sighed. "Oh well, you win Penny. Now what?"

Penny noticed how it was outside, and saw that it was getting late already. "Oh man, it's already getting dark." _Was it really that long?_ _"_ I gotta go Sherman, it's been really great seeing you."

When Penny was about to stand however, Sherman caught her arm. "I don't think you should go now Penny. You're tired and your place is pretty far from here. How about you sleep here? You know, just for tonight? You really need some rest."

A tint of red painted the girl's cheeks. "W-what?" Secretly, she was really liking this idea from the boy, and she tried her best not to smile, as to not make it obvious. "S-so where am I gonna sleep? The guest's room?" She hasn't noticed any extra room in the penthouse, and she hoped that remained true. From her several visits before, she had always slept in Sherman's room, but not on the same bed of course, all except for that one time.

"Actually… we don't have one yet. Well, you can stay here if you want!" Sherman smiled.

Penny felt like her cheeks were on fire. It was getting so difficult to contain the smile wanting to form on her lips. _Okay Penny, just calm down. Don't get too excited..._ "O-oh…" Her voice cracked, much to her further embarrassment. "That's alright." That's _definitely_ alright, she thought. She lied down on the bed beside him.

"Aren't you going to change?"

"I didn't plan an overnight visit, Sherman."

Sherman felt dumb for asking such a question. "Oh, right…" He laughed nervously. "Oh well, you can go umm rest now, so uhh good night, I guess?" He wasn't that tired yet, he wasn't that used to sleeping this early. "I'm just gonna be in the living room if you need me."

However, Penny caught his arm before he was able to leave the bed. She pouted. "So you're just gonna leave me here, alone?" The guilt tripping games have begun.

Sherman went nearer to Penny, confused. "But there's no ghosts here, well at least after getting rid of that doll."

Penny did her second move. She pretended to feel cold. She shivered. "I-I feel cold Sherman…"

Sherman noticed the blankets, and he draped it on her, much to her delight. "Alright, there you go, feel better?"

"N-no… I still feel cold…"

"Really? Just how many blankets do you need?"

Penny smiled as she made her last move. "I don't need another one…" She suddenly pulled Sherman closer to her. "What I need is my warm and huggable best friend!" She giggled as she put her hands around his arm, looking somewhat like a hug.

"You know, you haven't told your parents yet about staying here for a night."

Penny groaned. Sherman always knew how to ruin the moment. "I'm pretty sure they would allow me to stay here. You guys are like family to them, and to me."

Penny chuckled. "You know, this reminds of the time when you got sick and I had to take care of you."

Sherman returned the chuckle, and smiled. "Yeah, thanks for staying beside me," he said in a sarcastic tone.

Penny playfully punched his shoulder. "I didn't know what to do alright!"

"But still, it really helped a lot. So thanks again Penny."

"Sure Sherman. But now, it's my turn to say thanks, for letting me sleep with you." She quickly realized what she said, and blushed. "F-for letting me sleep here I mean, y-you know, so that I can rest much earlier." She chuckled nervously.

"No problem Penny. We're best friends, I'll always be there for you."

"Sure Sherman. Thank you." She hugged the boy, the contact causing her to blush slightly.

Penny didn't want to let go of the embrace. She never got tired of the warmth she felt whenever she hugged this boy, her best friend. And there was no way it was going to start now.

For now, there was nothing to worry about, now that he was there by her side.

* * *

 **It's been quite a while, hasn't it?**


End file.
